2005-08-02

Story Time

Jerry Greene at the Orlando Sentinel shares a story from 1983 about Bucs rookie Booker Reese, who failed to live up to the expectations placed on him.

One of the worst decisions in NFL drafting history was made by the Bucs in 1982 when they traded their first-round pick in '83 for Chicago's second-round pick in '82 to draft Reese, a big defensive end from Bethune-Cookman.

Booker was a disaster as a rookie because he had something of a learning disability. For example, he attended Ribault high school in Jacksonville -- and couldn't spell it.

Gibron, the defensive line coach, spent the entire offseason after Booker's rookie year trying to teach him NFL football. Both worked hard.

So it's the first day of camp in 1983, Booker's second season. All the media can't wait to see how Booker looks. And he looks great.

The Bucs run their first play in practice. Doug Williams drops back, passes toward Booker's side of the field. And Booker engages the tackle, does a 360-degree spin, leaps 20 feet into the air and bats away the pass.

OK, maybe not quite 20 feet but we were stunned, so who's counting. Writers, myself included, are furiously scripting our leads. I was working on something like, "Outlined against a shimmering hot August sky, the Four Horsemen rode again -- and their names were Booker, Booker, Booker and Booker."

Meanwhile, the Bucs ran their second play, which was a run straight up the middle. And Booker engages the tackle, does a 360-degree spin, leaps 10 feet into the air and nothing happens.

I stop writing. So does everyone else.Third play -- Williams passes to the opposite side of the field. And Booker engages the tackle, does a 360-degree spin, leaps 3 feet into the air and nothing happens.

I tear the page out of my notepad. So does everyone else.

Remember Gibron, the man who worked the entire offseason with Booker? He's watching all this while leaning against the goalposts. Like the kids in South Park, the media bunches together and kind of shuffles our way to Abe. As our spokesman, I say, "Abe, you worked with him the entire offseason. And he's learned one move?"